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My 2 year personal Skoda car lease (that is contract hire, not hire purchase) is coming to an end in July. I spent the last 2 years stupidly thinking that VW Finance insured their car for minor damage, just like any car hire company would do. Turns out they don't (or at least they don't admit they do).

So, the rear bumper has a 4cm horizontal crack and the front bumper has a minor scuff - both of these are car park related. I took it to 2 separate body shops and they both told me that the rear bumper will need changing. Both quotes were at the £1100 mark to fix front and back! It's a Skoda, not a Lambo!

I went to my own personal insurance and they want to charge me the £350 excess twice, as separate claims (which would also invalidate my NCB protection).

I find it ludicrous that after 2 years of driving, they now tell me that I must return it "in the exact same state they delivered it in" (their words). Considering it's not physically possible to return a car in the _exact_ same state it was delivered after 2 years, I struggle to understand how they don't insure against minor damage with just an excess payable by the customer.

Anyone have any advice? I'm panicking as I do not have this kind of cash lying around...

Why would you think VW Finance or any other lease/hire company insure their car for minor damage?

You've leased the car, you've insured it so you should claim from your own insurance for any damage you've caused to it prior to handing it back. Check the BVRLA guidelines to see if the damage is within the acceptable wear and tear guidelines. If not, get it repaired before sending it back.

My 2 year personal Skoda car lease (that is contract hire, not hire purchase) is coming to an end in July. I spent the last 2 years stupidly thinking that VW Finance insured their car for minor damage, just like any car hire company would do. Turns out they don't (or at least they don't admit they do).

So, the rear bumper has a 4cm horizontal crack and the front bumper has a minor scuff - both of these are car park related. I took it to 2 separate body shops and they both told me that the rear bumper will need changing. Both quotes were at the £1100 mark to fix front and back! It's a Skoda, not a Lambo!

I went to my own personal insurance and they want to charge me the £350 excess twice, as separate claims (which would also invalidate my NCB protection).

I find it ludicrous that after 2 years of driving, they now tell me that I must return it "in the exact same state they delivered it in" (their words). Considering it's not physically possible to return a car in the _exact_ same state it was delivered after 2 years, I struggle to understand how they don't insure against minor damage with just an excess payable by the customer.

Anyone have any advice? I'm panicking as I do not have this kind of cash lying around...

Why would you think VW Finance or any other lease/hire company insure their car for minor damage?

You've leased the car, you've insured it so you should claim from your own insurance for any damage you've caused to it prior to handing it back. Check the BVRLA guidelines to see if the damage is within the acceptable wear and tear guidelines. If not, get it repaired before sending it back.

Thanks for quick reply. That is my only option at the moment, it seems.

If I hire a car there is an excess (usually excessive) to pay, unless I throw down some extra money for an excess waiver, or I take out excess insurance where I pay it if needed and then claim it back.

My 2 year personal Skoda car lease (that is contract hire, not hire purchase) is coming to an end in July. I spent the last 2 years stupidly thinking that VW Finance insured their car for minor damage, just like any car hire company would do. Turns out they don't (or at least they don't admit they do).

So, the rear bumper has a 4cm horizontal crack and the front bumper has a minor scuff - both of these are car park related. I took it to 2 separate body shops and they both told me that the rear bumper will need changing. Both quotes were at the £1100 mark to fix front and back! It's a Skoda, not a Lambo!

I went to my own personal insurance and they want to charge me the £350 excess twice, as separate claims (which would also invalidate my NCB protection).

I find it ludicrous that after 2 years of driving, they now tell me that I must return it "in the exact same state they delivered it in" (their words). Considering it's not physically possible to return a car in the _exact_ same state it was delivered after 2 years, I struggle to understand how they don't insure against minor damage with just an excess payable by the customer.

Anyone have any advice? I'm panicking as I do not have this kind of cash lying around...

Thanks for quick reply. That is my only option at the moment, it seems.

If I hire a car there is an excess (usually excessive) to pay, unless I throw down some extra money for an excess waiver, or I take out excess insurance where I pay it if needed and then claim it back.

So you think you can drive someone else's car around for 2 years and they should foot the bill for any damage you incurred, get real!

I agree their statement that the car should be returned in the same state it was delivered is unreasonable but it should be returned in a reasonable condition taking into account fair wear & tear. As stated, google BVRLA fair wear & tear guide and have a read but I doubt the damage you describe will be covered.

There's normally limits on what constitutes acceptable wear and tear, and these will have been in your fine print. Normally things like stone chips are okay but anything longer than (plucking a figure out of the air) 2cm is deemed as damage. Assuming this is what's happening with your car, you have some options:
1. Return it in its current state and pay up whatever VW charge to repair
2. Pay yourself to repair it
3. Go through insurance (bearing in mind this will push up premiums for some years to come).

TBH a cracked bumper might mean the whole thing needs to be replaced rather than just repaired. Similarly, a minor "scuff" could easily mean the whole area eg front wing needs respraying.

You could take it to smart repairer and see if they could do anything. Otherwise you really need to pay for the damage done to the car. Remember that VW might well charge you a lot more than £1100 for the damage.

As stated in the post you quoted, it is car park damage i.e. from other cars who have just driven off. I haven't been involved in accidents nor have I driven recklessly. Also, please see second post regarding hire car insurance/excess.

Also, not blaming anyone. I'm happy to pay an excess as it was damaged while it was in my care, obviously. Perhaps it was a mistake asking here.

As stated in the post you quoted, it is car park damage i.e. from other cars who have just driven off. I haven't been involved in accidents nor have I driven recklessly. Also, please see second post regarding hire car insurance/excess.

Also, not blaming anyone. I'm happy to pay an excess as it was damaged while it was in my care, obviously. Perhaps it was a mistake asking here.

You stated in your first post that it was car park related- you didnt say other people did it. Somebody must have hit you a serious whack for the car to necessitate a new rear bumper BTW.

I've replied to your second post RE: hire car. You didnt read and / or understand what you signed up for did you?

The implication of your first post was that :-

(a) you had somehow been misled or were (are?) being lied to about minor damage insurance - "they dont admit they do..."
(b) The repair charges were exhorbitant - "its a Skoda not a Lambo!"
(c) Your own insurance company were in some way deliberately making it difficult for you to claim - "they want to charge me twice"
(d) You've suddenly been told that you must return the car in good condition - "i find it ludicrous.."

That looks an awful lot to me like trying to blame other people for your own mistakes.

Theres no way round this - at some point you're going to have to pay out money to get it resolved.

There's normally limits on what constitutes acceptable wear and tear, and these will have been in your fine print. Normally things like stone chips are okay but anything longer than (plucking a figure out of the air) 2cm is deemed as damage. Assuming this is what's happening with your car, you have some options:
1. Return it in its current state and pay up whatever VW charge to repair
2. Pay yourself to repair it
3. Go through insurance (bearing in mind this will push up premiums for some years to come).

TBH a cracked bumper might mean the whole thing needs to be replaced rather than just repaired. Similarly, a minor "scuff" could easily mean the whole area eg front wing needs respraying.

You could take it to smart repairer and see if they could do anything. Otherwise you really need to pay for the damage done to the car. Remember that VW might well charge you a lot more than £1100 for the damage.

Thanks for quick reply. That is my only option at the moment, it seems.

If I hire a car there is an excess (usually excessive) to pay, unless I throw down some extra money for an excess waiver, or I take out excess insurance where I pay it if needed and then claim it back.

Yes, if you hire a car on a short term basis, they insure the vehicle and it's included in the daily price.

In this case, you insure the leased vehicle and you still had the choice of having excess waiver i.e. you could have chosen to have a zero excess policy for the year but instead you chose to go for a lower annual premium with a £350 excess.

Excellent, pay the excess of £700 (£350 x 2) on your insurance and be done with it. This is what you pay insurance for.

I note you do not see why you should have your no claims bonus reduced and premiums affected. Even if you hire a car for a day if the car is damaged whilst in your care the incident is declarable when asking insurance companies for quotes.

Probably a good idea to read and understand the terms and conditions on large financial commitments in the future.

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